Opening to the Outside World } 365
China in the 1930s and 1940s. The formal purpose of Deng’s visit was to wit-
ness ratification of the recently signed treaty. But the larger purpose was to
forge a cooperative and friendly relation between the two countries, open-
ing the way for Japanese support for China’s “new long march” of the Four
Modernizations. Deng’s visit was a masterful display of deft diplomacy.
Deng relied on several tropes to court Japanese opinion.^25 One was his
generous treatment of the history issue. During Deng’s visit, many Japanese,
from the emperor and prime minister to business magnates to ordinary citi-
zens, expressed contrition and remorse for Japan’s aggression. Deng accepted
these expressions of apology with equanimity, forgoing innumerable oppor-
tunities to express bitterness or grievance, let alone to elaborate on Japan’s
crimes against China. Instead, Deng indicated that the people of both coun-
tries should not dwell on the past but look to the future. A significant element
of Japan’s political culture was (and remains) a feeling of remorse for Japan’s
aggression against China. Deng’s handling of the history issue was brilliant.
It was as though a high priest was offering absolution for Japan’s sins. Of
course, it was implicit that full remission of these sins would require atone-
ment by assisting China on its new long march toward modernization. Many
of Deng’s Japanese hosts made this linkage explicit. Konosuke Matsushita,
founder of the giant electronic appliance firm Panasonic and the Matsushita
heavy machinery company, told Deng how deeply remorseful he was about
Japan’s aggression toward China. Matsushita envisioned atoning for that ag-
gression by producing good but inexpensive televisions for China’s people.
Deng welcomed and encouraged such Japanese participation in China’s Four
Modernizations. This was an astute use of Japan’s national psychology.
Another aspect of Deng’s demeanor that proved effective with his
Japanese audiences was his humility. Time and again, Deng referred to
China’s backwardness, its poverty, and its need to learn from Japan. For
example, when touring Nijo Castle in Kyoto (the emperor’s castle during
the Tokugawa Shogunate, famous for its graceful gardens) and being told
by his Japanese host that “all the culture you see here was introduced by our
ancestors who learned it from China.” Deng immediately replied, “Now our
positions are reversed.”^26 At a press conference with over 400 media people
(the first such press conference ever held by a CCP leader), Deng replied to
a question by saying, “We must admit our deficiencies. We are a backward
country and we must learn from Japan.”^27 When another reporter asked
about Mao’s responsibility for the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, Deng
replied:
These were not just Mao’s mistakes, they were all our mistakes. Many of
us made mistakes. We lacked experience and had poor judgment. ... We
are very poor. We are very backward. We have to recognize that. We
have a lot to do, a long way to go, and a lot to learn.^28